Carpenters and other skilled tradesmen frequently use a pencil to mark their work. In many cases, the user is on a scaffold, a ladder, or an elevated structure. There is a tendency to occasionally drop the pencil. Consequently, carpenters usually carry several pencils. It is inconvenient and costly to lose these special pencils.
The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide a retractable device for retaining a carpenter""s pencil or other writing instrument so that if the pencil is accidentally released, it does not drop to the ground. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the carpenter uses a conventional, retractable reel such as is commonly used for keys and the like. The reel has a housing with a retainer that is clipped onto the user""s belt. It has a retractable spring attached to a key ring.
The carpenter""s pencil is connected to the key ring in one embodiment, by a relatively stiff expandable section of tubing. The tubing has a diameter less than that of a pencil. The user inserts the pencil into the tubing, expanding the tubing to form a tight frictional engagement with the pencil end. The other end of the tubing has a plug with a hole for receiving the key ring. The arrangement is such that if the carpenter should release the pencil, it is returned to the reel.
In another embodiment of the invention, the pencil is inserted in one end of the tubing to form a tight frictional engagement between the pencil and the tubing. The sides of the other end of the tubing are pressed together and formed with a hole, reinforced with the grommets, that forms an opening for the key ring.
In still another embodiment of the invention, when the user is employing a writing instrument other than the carpenter""s pencil, a section of tubing is employed that forms a frictional engagement with the end of the writing instrument. The other end of the tubing has a plug for receiving the key ring.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.